What West Hollywood noise do people complain to the City about?

Short answer: Noise from workers/businesses (construction, local businesses, and gardeners) almost 2/3 of the time and noise from residents (pets, music/parties, etc.) about 1/3 of the time

|

The City provided a detailed database of West Hollywood noise complaints received in 2014 and 2015. The number of complaints didn’t change much from one year to the next. We counted 922 in 2014 and 940 in 2015, excluding duplicates. We used all 1,862 for our analysis.

The database includes some but not all of the loud parties and other noise problems that people called the Sheriff about. They are included here only if the complainant also contacted the City.

The chart below shows the big sources of noise triggering complaints to the City. Almost two-thirds of these complaints were about workers/businesses, split among construction (25%), local businesses (20%), and gardeners (17%).

Sources: City of West Hollywood, “2014-2015 Noise complaints”, spreadsheet created on February 23, 2016; our analysis. Notes: The categorization is ours. We tried to remove true duplicates of the same complaint, but not cases in which the same person complained another time because the noise was still a problem.

These are examples of noise complaints about workers/businesses:

[Resident] called to state that construction work was being done at 6am. Caller was awoken by loud hammering.

Resident was awoken by loud noise / vibrating bass coming from the nightclub.

Resident is furious about the GAS LEAF Blower going on outside his apt window. He is trying to have a phone meeting but is unable to hear.

West Hollywood noise from residents

About one-third of noise complaints to the City were triggered by residents or their pets. The chart below provides a finer categorization of those complaints.

Three out of five (60%) were for animal noise. One-fifth were for ongoing issues with loud music (12%) or loud music/talking at parties (8%). The remaining fifth were for loud talking, TV volume, and other issues like residential air conditioners and smoke alarms.

Sources: Same as above

These are examples of noise complaints about residents:

Dog has been barking for several hours. This is an on-going problem.

[Neighbor] plays music loud from 11PM to 3 AM – every weekend.

2 individuals on balcony at 2 AM…loud conversation.

West Hollywood noise from air conditioners and alarms

Between business and residential sources, we found 21 complaints about air conditioners. There were 29 complaints about fire, burglar, and other alarms that wouldn’t stop or kept going off again. There were also various complaints about motors and mechanical devices, such as pool pumps and washing machines.

Short answer: Noise from workers/businesses (construction, local businesses, and gardeners) almost 2/3 of the time and noise from residents (pets, music/parties, etc.) about 1/3 of the time|
The City provided a detailed database of West Hollywood noise complaints received in 2014 and 2015. The number of complaints didn't change...

DavidWarrendavid_warren@post.harvard.eduAdministratorWeHo by the Numbers

You might also like to read:

About

145

reports using data to explore city government policy, performance, and community issues. Focused on West Hollywood (WeHo), Beverly Hills, Culver City, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica. Researched and written by David Warren as a private citizen. This is not a government website.